Studies estimate over half of employees have experienced bereavement in the last five years, and fewer than one in five managers feel equipped to handle grief effectively. This is causing harm - to people and business.
We live and work in largely death-phobic and grief-illiterate societies, where people feel awkward talking about death and loss. Workplaces continually call us for help, saying, ‘we don’t know what to say or do!’ We hear you, we used to feel that too, but a decade of working with grief has taught us there’s so much you can do to help. Let us help you become a more compassionate workplace.
When an organisation isn’t educated about grief, and situations aren’t handled well, it has been demonstrated to cause:
• Impaired productivity
• Reduced staff engagement and morale
• Fractured teams
• Increased absenteeism and presenteeism
• Good staff leaving
Your advice about coping with loss at work and how companies and colleagues can better support someone who is grieving was invaluable. You speak with such warmth and clarity and you shine a torch on a subject that is so important and yet is so often overlooked
Amanda German, co-director, White Balloon UK
CWL@Work will provide your organisation with information and resources to better help anyone who’s coping with loss. It equips your leaders to confidently and proactively support staff and colleagues - reducing negative impacts of loss on team morale and productivity.
Specifically designed for each audience’s needs, the CWL@Work Toolkits provide essential information and practical guides for leaders and HR team, the wider staff group, and staff members directly affected by loss.
Caring for your employees’ wellbeing in bad times as well as good is not just honouring wellbeing and DEI strategies, it also makes sound business sense. Poorly supported grief exacts a staggering cost on organisations each year.
One person’s grief at work affects their colleagues. From ignoring a grieving colleague because they don’t know what to say, to survivor guilt following a restructure, grief affects the team dynamic and can cause lasting harm to work relationships, damaging productivity and morale.
Grief is exhausting, isolating, reduces productivity and increases resignation risk. A successful return to work is more likely when grief is understood by the griever, supervisors and colleagues.
For over a decade our team has pioneered resilient approaches to coping with loss. Global client work, combined with academic expertise, informs our cutting-edge practice. We are uniquely qualified to assist organisations to become grief-literate and take a proactive approach to grief support.
